George Brent Movies
With his pencil-thin mustache, the suave, gallant George Brent was one of Hollywood's most dependable leading men. A handsome, but never very exciting or dynamic lead, he played opposite all of Warner's greatest actresses, including Barbara Stanwyck and Olivia de Havilland he is best known for his work with Bette Davis, with whom (according to some sources) he had a lasting but secret off-screen romance. He began his career playing small roles as a child in Abbey Theater (Ireland) plays. During the Irish Rebellion he participated in subversive activities and had to be smuggled out of the country to Canada where he eventually toured with a stock company for two years, before moving on to New York. There he continued to appear with several stock companies, three of which he formed on his own. Brent then found work on Broadway in the late '20s, before heading for Hollywood to begin a career that spanned two decades. Brent was typically cast as a gentlemanly, romantic leading man (after briefly being cast in tough hero roles). He debuted in Under Suspicion (1930). He retired from the big screen in 1953, going on to star in the TV series Wire Service (1956-59). He made his final screen appearance in 1978, playing a judge in Born Again. His six wives included actresses Ruth Chatterton (with whom he co-starred in The Rich Are Always With Us, [1932]), Constance Worth, and Ann Sheridan (with whom he appeared in Honeymoon for Three, [1941]). ~ All Movie Guide- 1945
It all begins when popular actress Susan Darrell (Joan Fontaine) returns from a USO tour to marry business exectuive Richard Aiken (Walter Abel). During his bachelor party, Aiken commisserates with Susan's ex-husband, Broadway producer Roger Berton (George Brent), and two of her former sweethearts, lumberman Mike Ward (Don DeFore) and novelist Bill Anthony (Dennis O'Keefe). Each man recalls his experiences with Susan-and each has an entirely different impression of the girl's personality! While trying to determine who the "real" Susan is, her three previous beaux decide that the stuffy Aiken is not for her. Indeed, Susan does reconsider her impending marriage in order to renew her romance with one of her earlier amours, but it wouldn't be fair to reveal which one. An amusing distaff variation on Citizen Kane (with a bit of Rashomon thrown in), The Affairs of Susan is a tour de farce for Joan Fontaine, called upon to essay four different interpretation of the same character. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Fontaine, George Brent, (more)
- 1945
- NR
Officially based on a novel by Margaret Carpenter, Experiment Perilous would seem to be more inspired by MGM's psychological thriller Gaslight. Set at the turn of the century, the film stars Hedy Lamarr as Allida, the beautiful young wife of an elderly "gentleman" named Nick (Paul Lukas). Treating his wife like a possession, Nick keeps her a virtual prisoner in their London town house, cutting off all contact with the outside world. The situation is exacting a terrible emotional toll on Allida and her stepson Alec (George N. Neise). Enter kindly psychiatrist Huntington Bailey (George Brent), who takes it upon himself to free Allida and Alec from the despotic control of the insanely jealous Nick. The film's "money scene" is a frenzied gun battle in an aquarium, replete with shattered glass, gushing water and floundering fish; this sequence would be imitated ad nauseum in such future films as Lethal Weapon (1988) and Mission: Impossible (1996). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hedy Lamarr, George Brent, (more)
- 1942
In this crime drama, a news editor writes a scandalous expose about a notorious gangster. The gangster then has the gall to sue him for libel and mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Brent, Brenda Marshall, (more)
- 1942
In this grim melodrama, Barbara Stanwyck plays the eldest of three wealthy sisters who become orphans when their father dies in France. Threatened with the danger of losing the opulent family home, Big Sister makes a grand sacrifice and secretly marries a real estate developer so she can inherit her aunt's fortune. A few years later, she learns that he is after the family estate and wants to tear it down so she leaves him and tries to stop him. More time passes and the husband ends up taking her to court when he learns that she has borne him a son without telling him. The part of "Gig Young" was played by actor Byron Barr who later assumed the name before he became famous. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, (more)
- 1942
This third film version of the hectic Margaret Mayo-Salisbury Field stage farce Twin Beds officially stars George Brent and Joan Bennett, but it's Mischa Auer's picture all the way. Newlyweds Mike and Julia Abbott (Brent and Bennett) can never be "alone at last" thanks to the unwelcome drop-ins by their friends, including flamboyant Russian musician Nicolai Cherupin (Auer) and his wife Sonya (Glenda Farrell), and by Julia's ex-beau Larky (Ernest Truex) and his wife Lydia (Una Merkel). Seeking to escape their well-meaning but intrusive chums, Mike and Julia move into a luxury apartment, only to discover that their next-door neighbors are?.you guessed it. The fun begins when the drunken Nicolai wanders into Julia's boudoir by mistake. Attempting to hide Nicolai's presence from Mike, Julia gets deeper and deeper in trouble when Sonya shows up demanding to know her husband's whereabouts. Just when it seems that things can't get any worse, who should arrive on the scene but Larky, in hot pursuit of a nonexistent burglar. Twin Beds is one of several screwball comedies (Nothing Sacred, Rage of Paris, My Man Godfrey) currently available on the Public Domain video circuit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Brent, Joan Bennett, (more)
- 1942
In this Victorian-era adventure, a blue-blooded girl is dismayed to discover that her recently deceased father, a compulsive gambler, has left her destitute and deeply in debt. At one time, he'd had a silver mine but even that was lost at the card table. The man who won the mine learns the circumstances of the girl's state of affairs, meets her, and falls in love. Unfortunately, she is to marry a wealthy young man so she can regain her previous social standing. The card-player demonstrates his love by giving her the deed to the mine as a wedding present, but she never sees it. Later she heads out west and opens a large saloon. It is a great success and she is finally able to pay her father's debts. She sends the money to her husband, who squanders it, looking for more silver. Now it is up to the gambler to rectify the situation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Brent, Priscilla Lane, (more)
- 1942
- NR
In This Our Life is not a "for the ages" classic of the Golden Age of Cinema, but as a highly effective and entertaining melodrama, it more than fits the bill. Howard Koch's screenplay is a trifle predictable, but it's well structured and provides the requisite juicy roles for its pair of female stars. It also provides a number of little surprises -- a sympathetic and (for the time) non-stereotypical portrayal of a black character and two characters living not only in sin but adulterously so -- that give it some distinction. The script's main drawback is its initial lack of focus; it doesn't seem to quite know exactly what its story is and where the real conflict will lie. Ultimately, this doesn't really matter, for John Huston knows where it's going, and he shepherds the story along very efficiently, throwing in a little social commentary here, heightening the atmosphere there, tossing in a hint of the unsavory elsewhere. Although he doesn't really know what to do with the male actors (save for Charles Coburn and Frank Craven, each of whom is just right in entirely different ways), he handles the women in exactly the right way, including Billie Burke as the coddling, neurotic mother. It's Bette Davis, of course, who gets the showiest role, and she sinks her teeth into it and plays it for all it's worth. It's a great Davis performance, but she's still outdone by Olivia de Havilland, whose quiet, understated work anchors the film and ultimately makes the greater impression. It's terribly fine film acting, and immensely satisfying. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, (more)
- 1941
Ann Sheridan and her then-husband George Brent did their expected box-office duty in the Warner Bros. comedy Honeymoon for Three. Brent plays confirmed-bachelor novelist Kenneth Bixby, who wards off marriage-minded females by pretending to be married to his secretary Anne Rogers (Sheridan). Complications begin piling up when Bixby is arduously pursued by his old flame Julie (Ona Massen), now wed to provincial stuffed-shirt Harvey Wilson (Charles Ruggles). The supporting cast includes such Warners "regulars" as star-to-be Jane Wyman and future producer William T. Orr (who happened to be Jack Warner's son-in-law), not to mention Walter Catlett as a funny waiter. Honeymoon for Three was based on the venerable stage play by George Haight and Alan Scott. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sheridan, George Brent, (more)
- 1941
In this drama, which blends romance with suspense, Prince Kurt von Rotenberg (George Brent) is attempting to flee his native Austria one step ahead of German troops. In his travels, he meets Marta Keller (Martha Scott), and amidst the chaos that surrounds them, the two fall in love, even though she is already engaged to another. Kurt and Marta set their sights on Czechoslovakia, but they lose track of each other along the way, and in time Kurt decides to make a profound sacrifice for the woman he loves -- when he learns that Marta's fiancé has been captured by Nazi troops, Kurt offers to turn himself in to German authorities in exchange for his release. They Dare Not Love proved to be the last feature film credited to British director James Whale, though he did not in fact complete the project; midway through the shooting, Whale was replaced by Charles Vidor. Lloyd Bridges and Peter Cushing both appear in minor roles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Brent, Martha Scott, (more)
- 1941
The Great Lie is Soap Opera Deluxe from Bette Davis' peak period at Warner Bros. Davis plays a socialite who is madly in love with playboy aviator George Brent. Brilliant but bitchy concert pianist Mary Astor (who won a well-deserved Academy Award for her chain-smoking histrionics) is also in love with Brent, going so far as to marry him in a secret ceremony. When it appears that the marriage may be invalid, Astor is too devoted to her art to take the necessary corrective steps, so Brent returns to Davis, who is too proud to be picked up on the rebound. While flying an important government mission, Brent disappears and is presumed killed. Davis meets Astor, who had been impregnated by Brent before the question of their marriage's validity came up. Since her first marriage had been in secret, Astor is terrified that her career will be ruined by the sudden appearance of an unexplained child, so Davis, out of love for Brent, agrees to claim the baby as her own. When Brent, who of course has not been killed after all, resurfaces, Astor demands that the child be returned to her, hoping that the child will forever bind Brent to her. Davis tells Brent the whole sad story, whereupon our long-absent hero declares his love for Davis and his willingness to give up the child to Astor. At the last moment, Astor returns the kid to Davis and Brent, and the film ends on a splendiferous musical chord courtesy of overworked Warner Bros. composer Max Steiner. In lesser hands, The Great Lie would have been outrageous hokum, but somehow Bette Davis and Mary Astor (and, to a lesser extent, George Brent) make you want to believe that the story has some resemblance to Real Life. The film was based on the novel January Heights by Polan Blanks, which was not governed by Hollywood censorship and thus didn't have to bend over backwards to "legitimize" the baby in the story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, George Brent, (more)
- 1941
Hungarian actress Ilona Massey stars as an operative for the Axis in this slightly tongue-in-cheek wartime melodrama. She spends her working hours signalling secret messages to enemy U-boats. George Brent is the U.S. counterspy sent to track down the security leak. Brent's job is made doubly delicate when he falls in love with the seductive Massey. It is said that Ilona Massey never mastered the English language, and had to learn her lines phonetically; if true, why does she handle the funnier lines in International Lady so well? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Brent, Ilona Massey, (more)
- 1940
South of Suez is where diamond-mine foreman John Gamble (George Brent) plies his trade. When his boss is murdered, Gamble is held for murder, forcing him to take it on the lam. With the reluctant aid of heroine Katherine Sheffield (Brenda Marshall), Gamble endeavors to prove his innocence. He is finally cleared not because of any exceptional detective work, but through the bungling of the actual killer (no, his name will not be revealed here). Strictly B-grade material, South of Suez is a virtual compendium of stock shots from earlier Warner Bros. films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Brent, Brenda Marshall, (more)
- 1940
This slightly laundered remake of the 1932 courtroom classic The Mouthpiece stars George Brent as brilliant but unprincipled DA Steve Forbes, a character based on legendary lawyer William Fallon. After railroading an innocent boy into the electric chair, Forbes goes on a bender, then cynically builds up a new practice as a criminal attorney. His underhanded legal tactics cause a rift between Forbes and his idealistic younger brother Johnny (William Lundigan), despite the fact that it was Steve's income that enabled Johnny to finish law school. Angered that his brother has enabled big-time gangster J.B. Roscoe (Richard Barthelmess) to continually elude the law, Johnny turns in damning evidence to the FBI. On Roscoe's orders, Steve frames Johnny on a murder charge, but reforms his ways in the nick of time. Based on a play by Frank J. Collins, The Man Who Talked too Much was remade in 1955 as Illegal, with Edward G. Robinson in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Brent, Virginia Bruce, (more)
- 1940
British army pilot Stephen (George Brent) falls in love with jewel-thief Felice (Isa Miranda), tricking her out of some stolen diamonds. Stephen and South African Police Commissioner Lansfield (Nigel Bruce) set a trap for her partner Barclay (John Loder), but Felice falls for it instead. She's given parole in order to help Stephen and Lansfield trap a new, murderous ring of thieves, and she and Stephen start to fall in love. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Brent, Isa Miranda, (more)
- 1940
'Til We Meet Again is an inflated remake of 1932's One Way Passage. As in the original, the hero is a convicted murderer en route to the death house by way of a merchant ship; the heroine is suffering from a terminal illness. Once more, hero and heroine fall in love, each keeping the facts of his or her imminent doom from the other. The principal difference this time is that instead of William Powell and Kay Francis, the stars are George Brent and Merle Oberon. This cast change does no damage to the basic storyline, but the decision in 'Til We Meet Again to expand upon the secondary romance between the arresting detective (Pat O'Brien) and an accomplice of the condemned man (Geraldine Fitzgerald) throws the focus of the film completely out of kilter. One decided benefit to both One Way Passage and 'Til We Meet Again is the comic presence of Frank McHugh, who plays the same role--a tipsy pickpocket--in both pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Merle Oberon, George Brent, (more)
Officially, America had no intention of entering the Second World War in 1940: Why, then, were there so many "preparedness" pictures like The Fighting 69th? This film, based on the experiences of military priest Father Duffy (Pat O'Brien), is set during World War I. The US 69th division was a national guard contingent comprised of Irish Americans, who fought with the Rainbow Division in the years 1917-1918. Into this Hibernian stronghold comes cocky Jerry Plunkett (Jimmy Cagney), a streetwise tough who is certain that he can lick the Germans single-handedly. But during his first taste of real combat, Plunkett turns coward and inadvertently reveals the 69th's position. Held responsible for the deaths of his companions, Plunkett is sentenced to a firing squad. Thanks to a conveniently dropped bomb that levels the stockade in which he is held, Plunkett redeems himself on the battlefield by sacrificing his life to save his fellow soldiers. The beauty of James Cagney's star performance is that he is as thoroughly convincing as a "yellow belly" as he is a hero. In addition to father Duffy, the real-life personages depicted in The Fighting 69th include future OSS leader Wild Bill Donovan (George Brent) and poet Joyce Kilmer (Jeffrey Lynn). Other Irish "regulars" include Alan Hale, Frank McHugh, Dennis Morgan, and Sammy Cohen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, (more)
- 1939
- NR
Bette Davis earned an Oscar nomination for her role in this classic four-hanky tearjerker. Judith Traherne (Bette Davis) is a very wealthy Long Island heiress whose life is a constant whirl of cocktails, parties, and wild living. Despite her hedonistic lifestyle, Judith derives little pleasure from life except for her horses, cared for by stable master Michael O'Leary (Humphrey Bogart). When Judith begins suffering from headaches and dizzy spells, Dr. Frederick Steele (George Brent) gives her the bad news: she has a brain tumor that could threaten her life if not treated immediately. Judith consents to surgery, and Frederick informs her that the operation was a success. A grateful Judith quickly falls in love with Frederick, and they plan to marry. However, the tumor returns, and when Judith discovers that she has only a few months to live, she calls off the wedding, convinced that Frederick is marrying her only as an act of pity for a dying woman. A major success and perennial favorite, Dark Victory was later remade as Stolen Hours with Susan Hayward and as a TV movie starring Elizabeth Montgomery. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, George Brent, (more)
- 1939
Filmed on-location at the Naval Air Training Stations in San Diego, CA, and Pensacola, FL, this black-and-white Warner Bros. drama was dedicated to the U.S. Naval Aviation Service and probably served as propaganda when it was released in 1939, right before the U.S. involvement in WWII. Submarine officer Jerry Harrington (John Payne) goes to Pensacola to train as a flying cadet, just like his father and his brother, longtime airman Cass Harrington (George Brent). Jerry ends up falling for his brother's girlfriend, Irene Dale (Olivia deHavilland), which only increases the competition between the two brothers. After Cass gets injured, Jerry becomes a pilot in San Diego and Irene must choose which man she wants. Also starring Frank McHugh.
~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Brent, Olivia de Havilland, (more)
- 1939
Originally designed for exhibition at the 1939 World's Fair, Land of Liberty is a 137-minute compendium of filmclips from past American historical epics. The project was sponsored by the Motion Picture Producers & Distributors of America, Inc. and supervised by Cecil B. DeMille, who also edited the film with the assistance of his crack Paramount production staff. The narration was written by old DeMille hands Jeannie MacPherson and Jesse Lasky Jr. and spoken by a talented team of uncredited announcers (one of whom sounded suspiciously like old C. B. himself). Clips from such Hollywood productions as America (1924), Abraham Lincoln (1930), Alexander Hamilton (1931), Show Boat (1936), Man of Conquest (1939) and DeMille's own The Plainsman (1936), The Buccaneer (1938) and Union Pacific (1939) are woven together into a chronological continuity, tracing American history from the Revolutionary War to the "present," which is largely represented by newsreel footage of President Roosevelt, the TVA project, and other current personalities and events. In later years, Land of Liberty was redistributed on the classroom circuit, with new footage added from historical dramas of the 1940s and 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1939
When Zoë Akins' play The Old Maid (based on a novel by Edith Wharton) won the 1934-1935 Pulitzer Prize, the selection was roundly condemned by critics, who felt that Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour was more deserving, but had lost because of its lesbian theme. Certainly, Akins' story of the relationship between two Southern cousins in the years between 1833 and 1854 is nothing spectacular. Delia Lovell marries James Ralston, leaving her old beau Clem Spender out in the cold. Delia's cousin Charlotte comforts Clem by spending the night with him. Charlotte becomes pregnant, secretly farming out her daughter, Tina, to another family. The years pass; Charlotte sets up a day nursery so that she may remain close to her daughter (still in the dark as to the true identity of her mother). Meanwhile, Charlotte has become engaged to Ralston's brother Joseph. The troublesome Delia, who discovers her cousin's secret, contrives to prevent Charlotte from marrying Joseph, then arranges to have Charlotte raise Tina as her niece rather than her daughter. More years pass; Tina regards Delia as her mama and Charlotte as just an "old maid." At Tina's wedding, Charlotte almost reveals the truth to her daughter, but.....It's all slick romance-magazine stuff, and hardly worthy of the Pulitzer. On the other hand, the film version of The Old Maid, starring Bette Davis as Charlotte and Miriam Hopkins as Delia, is a classic of its kind, and one of Davis' best vehicles. The story is given additional substance by moving the early scenes up to the time of the Civil War, making Clem Spender (George Brent) less of a cad by killing him off at Vicksburg, thus rendering it impossible for Clem to make an honest woman of Charlotte. From the vantage point of the 1990s, when film stars find it difficult to turn out more than one picture a year, it is incredible that The Old Maid was but one of four first-rate Bette Davis films to be released in 1939; the others were Dark Victory, Juarez, and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, (more)
Myrna Loy stars in Clarence Brown's sumptuous and exotic romance, based upon the novel by Louis Bromfield. Loy plays Lady Edwina Esketh, the unhappily married wife of Lord Albert Esketh (Nigel Bruce), a dumpy middle-aged English businessman. Edwina escapes her loneliness by engaging in ephemeral love affairs. When Lord Albert travels to the Indian province of Ranchipur, Edwina encounters one of her past lovers, Tom Ransome (George Brent). Tom wants to renew his acquaintance with Edwina, but she has set her sights on a young Indian doctor, Major Rama Safti (Tyrone Power), the court favorite of the reigning maharajah (H.B. Warner) who may inherit the throne one day. Rama is dedicated to helping the poor and, as Edwina falls deeply in love with him, she begins to notice of the plight of the poverty stricken. When a terrible earthquake decimates Ranchipur, Edwina joins with Rama to help tend to the victims of this tragedy. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Myrna Loy, Tyrone Power, (more)
- 1938
Michael Curtiz directs this Technicolor Western based on the familiar story by Clements Ripley about the rivalry between farmers and miners in the Sacramento valley during the years following the California Gold Rush. Handsome engineer Jared Whitney (George Brent) from the Golden Moon mining company arrives in a small town to supervise their operations. He oversees boorish mining foreman Slag Minton (Burton MacLane), then goes to bar where he befriends Lance (Tim Holt), the son of prominent wheat farmer Colonel Chris Ferris (Claude Rains). He ends up falling in love with Lance's sister, Serena (Olivia deHavilland), despite their alliances with opposing forces. They are forbidden to see each other when her father finds out, so Jared goes back to San Francisco to work with his boss, Harrison McCooey (Sidney Toler), on a dam construction project. Meanwhile, Lance chooses the side of the miners over the farmers when he leaves the town to stay with his Uncle Ralph (John Litel). When local farmer John McKenzie (Russell Simpson) loses his family and his farm due to the destruction caused by the miners, Chris supports him in a law suit against the mining company. This all escalates into a violent armed confrontation between the farmers and the miners, leading up to an explosive conclusion and a romantic reunion. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Brent, Olivia de Havilland, (more)
- 1938
In this gangster movie set in the Big Apple, a crime lord strong arms teamsters into paying him protection money. One young trucker with a very pregnant wife, stands up to the thug. His partner also refuses to pay in the hopes that they will help the other truck drivers. Naturally this enrages the king-pin and his mob. Simultaneously an idealistic young attorney is chosen by the DA to do all he can to get that crime boss convicted and off the streets for good. Back on the streets, the mobster manages to force the young trucker into paying up; this causes the man to quit and begin selling tomatoes. The lawyer finds him and offers him a chance to help the government and prosecute the gangster. He accepts and together the two do just that. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, George Brent, (more)
- 1938
Kay Francis fights off tears, deprivations and a mediocre script in Warner Bros.' Secrets of an Actress. La Francis plays Fay Carter, a popular Broadway star romantically involved with architect Dick Orr (George Brent), who has put up the money for her latest production. Problem is, Dick is already married-albeit unhappily-to selfish Carla Orr (Gloria Dickson). When Carla refuses to give Dick a divorce, he decides to kick over all the traces and sail off alone to Norway. Fay manages to prevent Dick from making this radical move, simultaneously giving him up. Fortunately, Dick's business partner Peter Snowden (Ian Hunter), who isn't married, is waiting in the wings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kay Francis, George Brent, (more)
In 1938, Jezebel was widely regarded as Warner Bros.' "compensation" to Bette Davis for her losing the opportunity to play Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind. Resemblances between the two properties are inescapable: Jezebel heroine Julie Marsden (Davis) is a headstrong Southern belle not unlike Scarlett (Julie lives in New Orleans rather than Georgia); she loves fiancé Preston Dillard (played by Henry Fonda) but loses him when she makes a public spectacle of herself (to provoke envy in him) by wearing an inappropriate red dress at a ball, just as Scarlett O'Hara brazenly danced with Rhett Butler while still garbed in widow's weeds. There are several other similarities between the works, but it is important to note that Jezebel is set in the 1850s, several years before Gone With the Wind's Civil War milieu; and we must observe that, unlike Scarlett O'Hara, Julie Marsden is humbled by her experiences and ends up giving of her time, energy, and health during a deadly yellow jack outbreak. Bette Davis won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Julie; an additional Oscar went to Fay Bainter for her portrayal of the remonstrative Aunt Belle (she's the one who labels Julie a "jezebel" at a crucial plot point). The offscreen intrigues of Jezebel, including Bette Davis' romantic attachment to director William Wyler and co-star George Brent, have been fully documented elsewhere. Jezebel was based on an old and oft-produced play by Owen Davis Sr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, (more)
